The best kind of freeze frame

by sethsawyers

There’s nothing like a really good sports photo. This one has always been a favorite. In it, taken by Hy Peskin and run in Sports Illustrated in 1955, Carmen Basilio has won, while Tony DeMarco has lost. The composition–the losing duo big in the foreground, the winning pair high and small in the top-right corner–is just beautiful. And the darkness of the loser contrasted with the brightness of the winner. And the fact that boxing goes beyond the regular winner-loser dichotomy, smacking it in the face. It’s brutal and triumphant at the same time.